Name: Zhou Yi
Registered Residence: Nanming District, Hongcheng City
Date of Birth: April 15, 1974
Height: 181 cm
Weight: 76 kg
Education: Associate Degree
Graduated From: Provincial Police Officer Higher Vocational School
Major: Criminal Investigation Technology
Current Unit: Nanhu Street Police Station, Nanming District, Hongcheng City
Reporting Date: July 1996
Father: Zhou Jian Country, worker at Hongcheng Second Steel Plant
Mother: Zhang Qiuxia, worker at Hongcheng Second Steel Plant
Wu Yongcheng looked at the faxed file in his hand, and his tightly furrowed brows slightly relaxed.
When he pushed open the interrogation room door again, Zhou Yi immediately noticed that Wu Yongcheng looked much more relaxed. The previously tense muscles in his shoulders had loosened up.
It seemed he had dropped his guard against him.
Wu Yongcheng walked up to Zhou Yi, looked at his face, and then glanced at the photo on the fax.
"Chen, the keys."
"Yes, sir."
Receiving the order, the young policeman immediately ran over, took out his keys, unlocked Zhou Yi’s handcuffs and leg irons, and opened the interrogation chair.
Wu Yongcheng nodded, then turned to Xu Nian. "By the way, Xu, Zhou Yi has a knife wound on his arm. Please take him for an injury assessment and confirm if the weapon that cut him is the same one used to kill the victim."
"Understood, Captain Wu," Xu Nian nodded, then said to Zhou Yi, "Come with me."
"If there’s nothing else, come find me in the Third Brigade’s office after your wound is treated." This sentence was directed at Zhou Yi.
"All right," Zhou Yi agreed.
Wu Yongcheng and Chen left in a hurry, but after a few steps, Wu Yongcheng turned back.
"Oh, right, Xu. We still need to extract and test Zhou Yi’s blood. We can’t skip any of the required procedures; it’s a matter of principle."
Xu Nian smiled and nodded. "I understand. Don’t worry, Captain Wu. This kind of test report will be ready very quickly."
"Thanks for your hard work," Wu Yongcheng said with a smile.
Zhou Yi, however, found his smile a bit creepy. Fortunately, they were on the same side.
Otherwise, he would be in deep trouble.
In the City Bureau’s forensics lab, Xu Nian was extracting blood samples from Zhou Yi’s body.
With practiced movements, she collected the bloodstains from various parts of his body into labeled test tubes.
Looking at Xu Nian, who was so close at hand, Zhou Yi felt a bit dazed.
Before his rebirth, he had first met Xu Nian when he had just passed his assessment, transferred to become a criminal detective, and officially handled his first murder case.
He was twenty-six at the time—a fledgling rookie detective—while Xu Nian, who was the exact same age, was an elite graduate from a prestigious university.
Seeing a mangled corpse for the first time had made him vomit uncontrollably on the sidelines.
Having just finished examining the body, Xu Nian had kindly taught him to press the Neiguan acupoint on his wrist to stop the nausea.
She mentioned it was a little trick her teacher had taught her back in school.
They got to know each other from then on, gradually developed feelings, and eventually got together.
She was Zhou Yi’s first love, and he was hers.
During his time with Xu Nian, Zhou Yi absorbed a vast amount of forensic knowledge, which laid the foundation for his later career.
However, as their relationship deepened, Zhou Yi gradually learned about her family background.
Only then did he realize they were from completely different worlds; their social statuses were a total mismatch.
Xu Nian’s father was the director of a bureau, and her mother was an associate professor at a university. It was a well-educated, highly intellectual family.
Although Zhou Yi told himself they were all good youths of the new socialist era, his inferiority complex still crept into his mindset and affected their relationship.
Especially when faced with Xu Nian’s eagerness for marriage, Zhou Yi’s evasion had left her deeply disappointed.
Not long after, an incident occurred that changed the trajectory of Xu Nian’s life and brought their relationship to an end.
Father Xu was placed under internal disciplinary investigation.
Since the specific details were never made public, Zhou Yi didn’t know exactly what her father had done, but he figured it was most likely related to corruption.
After the incident, Xu Nian resigned from the City Bureau. Following fruitless efforts to seek help from various connections, Father Xu was ultimately thrown into prison.
Devastated, Xu Nian eventually left without saying goodbye, traveling to a foreign country to escape reality.
Their brief first love died a natural death. The two went their separate ways, never to cross paths again.
"Let me see the wound on your arm," Xu Nian said as she put on a medical mask.
Zhou Yi finally snapped out of his daze, realizing the sampling was already finished.
"Oh, okay."
Xu Nian began to unwrap the bandage on his arm. However, because the blood had coagulated, the dried fabric was stuck to the wound.
"Why is it bandaged like this?" Xu Nian frowned slightly.
Zhou Yi guessed that the nurse who had bandaged him at the hospital probably took him for a criminal and did a perfunctory job.
Xu Nian turned around to grab some cotton swabs and saline solution. "The bandage is stuck to the wound. Pulling it off directly will cause secondary injury. I’ll take care of it for you first."
"Thank you." Zhou Yi felt a surreal sense of being in another lifetime.
Xu Nian first used scissors to cut open the bandage on the other parts of his arm. Then, she soaked a cotton swab in saline and meticulously dissolved the dried blood near the wound to free the fabric bit by bit.
She frowned. "Didn’t they say you were sent to the hospital first? How could they just disinfect it without even stitching the wound? This is way too unprofessional."
Zhou Yi gave a helpless smile. "I guess the hospital treated me like a criminal suspect."
Xu Nian didn’t respond, keeping her head down as she worked. Soon, the stuck bandages were completely removed and placed in a tray to the side, forming a bloody heap.
With a solemn expression, she examined the hideous gash on Zhou Yi’s arm.
"I’ll do the injury assessment first. To be safe, I’ll also give you some simple stitches and bandage it up, but you definitely need to go to the hospital for proper treatment afterward. It’s best to get a tetanus shot."
Xu Nian quickly and professionally completed the injury assessment, then took out a needle and surgical thread from a cabinet.
"I don’t have any anesthetics here, though. I’ll have to stitch it dry. Can you handle it?"
Zhou Yi nodded. "It’s fine. Just do it, don’t worry about me."
"Raise your arm and straighten it," Xu Nian said, picking up a bottle of disinfectant.
Zhou Yi complied. After hesitating for a moment, Xu Nian poured the disinfectant directly over the wound.
A piercing agony instantly exploded from the gash. Zhou Yi trembled, his spine immediately stiffening.
Seeing this, Xu Nian paused and asked with concern, "Are you okay?"
Zhou Yi nodded, a fine layer of sweat breaking out on his forehead.
"I’m good, just quite the sting." Zhou Yi forced a grin. "Keep going, it’s fine."
As a medical professional, Xu Nian naturally knew how painful it was. Even if Zhou Yi had screamed his lungs out, she would have completely understood.
However, this man, who was around her age, didn’t make a peep. The arm he held out straight didn’t even waver.
Was he really just a rookie cop?